A giant snowy owl play structure was recently installed at one of the new parks nestled around the renaturalized mouth of the Don River in Toronto’s Port Lands area. These parks lining the river valley will open during the summer of 2025 and will provide 6.1 kilometres of recreational trails for visitors to explore, paddle, have picnics at, enjoy amazing views of the lake, and interact with giant play structures (like the owl)!
The near-30-foot-owl structure — designed and fabricated by Monstrum, with the landscape designed by MVVA — is visible from Commissioners Street and the yellow Cherry Street Southbridge. But this isn’t any old owl structure — it has an actual stage built into its belly and will be surrounded by seating that looks like a nest. The stage will allow kids (or kids at heart) to perform impromptu or imaginative shows, and will feature a drum set, bells, and talk tubes for a ‘director’ to call up to performers waiting in the wings.
Those who climb the two stories to the top will see that the owl’s eyes also function as windows!
Photographers captured the moment when crews topped off this two-storey structure by placing the owl’s head onto its body — the owl’s head was so big it had to be hoisted into place on a crane. After the owl’s face was secured, the back of its head was also lifted into place.
Building a 30-foot owl required a crane. Not the bird, the construction machine! Learn more: https://t.co/vtMd3sjOyL pic.twitter.com/UQabEKjSie
— Waterfront Toronto (@WaterfrontTO) August 15, 2024
The owl soon be joined by another nearby play structure — a raccoon will be built near the picnic areas to give kids a place to play in view of their caregivers.
According to Waterfront Toronto, these play features are meant to invite kids and adults to play in ways that are both challenging and imaginative — the structures are part of a pilot for a much larger play experience along the western edge of the island. The structures are part of the Port Lands flood protection project, which involves reconnecting the Don River to Lake Ontario by creating a naturalized river mouth. Once complete, there will be 25 hectares of publicly accessible greenspace and parkland.
Photos: Waterfront Toronto.
